Most of us are faced with a burning desire to stamp out morning drowsiness with a cup of coffee. If you love coffee, you don’t just like it, you love it and need it. I am definitely one of these people who treats coffee as necessity. (This is my favorite coffee) People’s love for coffee is special. For many, it develops over years. With age we appreciate coffee even more. There’s been a lot of buzz on the health benefits of coffee: some say it’s good, and some say it’s bad. I personally think those that say the latter just don’t like coffee. So, what should you know about coffee and it’s health benefits?
What is Caffeine?
Caffeine is an alkaloid which is contained in about 60 plants, the most famous of them are coffee beans, cacao beans, the tropical plant Cola, tea leaves and guarana seeds. The most common products containing caffeine are coffee, cocoa and tea. Caffeine in its pure form is used to add bitterness to products. From a medical point of view caffeine is a classic psychomotor stimulant. It has the ability to excite the nervous system, reduce the sense of fatigue, increase mental activity and kick drowsiness.
10 New Reasons Why Coffee is Good For You
- Coffee is a major source of antioxidants. Antioxidants fight free radicals in your body that make you age faster. Scientists have discovered (here) that one serving of coffee a day will give you more antioxidants than a serving of blueberries.
- Coffee improves metabolism. Caffeine is a substance that is known to increase metabolism by mobilizing fats from fat tissues. Theobrominem, Theophylline, and Chlorogenic Acid – substances contained in coffee are responsible for stimulating your metabolism by breaking down fats and releasing them into the blood.
- Coffee protects the liver. Coffee helps stimulate the functions of the gallbladder, thereby decreasing the risk of gallstones. People who drink coffee have lower risks of getting Cirrhosis of the liver.
- Coffee reduces the risk of Parkinson’s disease. One of the causes of it is a loss of neurons. But coffee, tea and other beverages containing caffeine may reduce the number of lost neurons.
- Coffee helps prevent certain cancers. Some types of cancer is less common among coffee drinkers. Studies (here) have shown that chlorogenic acid and caffeine (contained in coffee) help to reduce the risk of liver cancer. Japanese research has proven that coffee is also effective for women’s health because it reduces the risk of developing cancer of the uterus.
- Coffee helps acclimatization. If you travel often and have to change time zones, a cup of coffee will help you with acclimatization. Theophylline in coffe may help improve sleep at high altitude,
and reduce episodes of oxygen desaturation (study here) - Coffee prevents baldness. One of the studies (here) has demonstrated that if you rub coffee into your scalp, it might help prevent baldness.
- Coffee reduces the risk for type II diabetes. Studies have found (here) that chlorogenic acid helps in the prevention of diabetes.
- Coffee improves brain function. Scientists have proven that consumptions of coffee intensifies many functions of the brain.
- Coffee helps with asthma. This study found that caffeine improves lung function in asthmatics. “Seven trials involving a total of 75 people with mild to moderate asthma were included. The studies were all of cross-over design. Six trials involving 55 people showed that in comparison with placebo, caffeine, even at a ‘low dose’ (< 5mg/kg body weight), appears to improve lung function for up to two hours after consumption.”
It’s very important to choose fair trade organic coffee (like this one) to make sure it’s free of added pesticides and chemicals.
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